Keeping up with the constant flow of hires, promotions, and departures in the video‑game sector can be a daunting task, which is why we publish periodic round‑ups that capture the most noteworthy personnel changes. If your organization has recent appointments or role changes that you think belong in this list, please forward the name, new title, new company, and previous position to newhires@gamesindustry.biz. Natalie Francis will take over as studio manager of Ubisoft’s Massive Entertainment starting on 1 October 2026.
Francis arrives with a rich background in studio leadership, having most recently served as chief development officer at Avalanche Studios. Earlier in her career she oversaw studio operations and development at DICE and held the role of studio operations director at Electronic Arts.
"Massive Entertainment has an extraordinary history, built by incredibly talented people and a culture that cares deeply about craft and quality," Francis said. "I’m excited to build on that foundation and help create the conditions for the studio and its people to thrive in its next chapter." General Manager of Creative House 2, Christoph Hartmann, added that Francis’s extensive experience uniting multidisciplinary teams around clear creative and business visions makes her especially suited to guide Massive forward.
He highlighted her proven record of delivering ambitious player experiences while aligning long‑term strategy with operational excellence, which he believes will provide a solid footing for the studio’s future projects. Riot Games announced the promotion of Allie Murdock to senior manager of game production. Murdock previously managed production on the flagship shooter Valorant and, before joining Riot, served as production director at Red Lens Games.
Her elevation reflects Riot’s confidence in her ability to steer large‑scale production pipelines and nurture talent across its growing portfolio. Gearbox Entertainment welcomed Kristen Quinn as its new lead sound designer. Quinn’s résumé includes stints as audio director, contractor, and consultant at Bonfire Studios, as well as a previous audio director role at Polyarc. Her expertise in crafting immersive audio experiences is expected to enhance Gearbox’s upcoming titles.
Insomniac Games added Benjamin Liu to its ranks as lead VFX artist. Liu previously acted as principal VFX artist and interim VFX director at Lightspeed LA, where he helped shape the visual effects pipelines for several high‑profile releases. Fandom disclosed three senior hires and the promotion of a long‑time veteran. Anita Butler was appointed senior vice president of design & user research, bringing experience from Nextdoor (EVP of design and research), Twitter (VP of consumer design) and Strava (chief design officer).
Damon Sicore joined as chief technology officer and head of Fandom Labs after leadership roles at Wikipedia and Mozilla, where he oversaw the engineering teams behind Firefox, HTML, JavaScript and CSS. Peter Scanlon became chief marketing officer, leveraging executive experience from Google, Mozilla and Monks. Additionally, Daniel Grunwell was promoted to senior vice president of engineering, taking responsibility for Fandom’s engineering and infrastructure groups. CEO Jay Sullivan praised the team, noting that the combination of deep institutional knowledge and fresh consumer‑focused perspectives positions Fandom to expand its fan‑centric platforms.
The New York Times named Jonathan Knight as chief games officer. Knight previously served as senior vice president and head of games, where he led the acquisition and integration of the viral puzzle game Wordle.
Scopely announced the return of Chase Shi as vice president and head of game product. Shi originally left Scopely in 2020 after serving as senior product manager, then held product leadership positions at Jam City and Blizzard Entertainment (director of product management on Diablo) before rejoining. Scopely also appointed Jonathan Marcelino as director of product; Marcelino founded and ran the hybrid‑casual studio Ritmo Games prior to this role.
Berkay Özer became head of studio at Fomo Games after a stint as product specialist and product team lead within the company from 2022 to 2025, followed by a product manager role at Loom Games. Arrowhead Game Studios welcomed Peter Sydow as head of production. Sydow’s background includes senior producer roles at Massive Entertainment and PlayerUnknown Productions. Blizzard Entertainment promoted Ryan Ngoon to game designer.
Ngoon joined Blizzard in 2023 as a quest‑design intern, progressed to associate game designer in 2024, and now contributes to the studio’s broader design initiatives. Epic Games added Sarah Johnson as an art producer. Johnson’s previous production experience spans Bungie, Secret Dimension, Hangar 13 and Telltale Games, giving her a well‑rounded perspective on art pipelines across multiple genres.
Asmodee named Brian Trunk senior vice president of Route to Market for the Americas. Trunk, a partner at Asmodee for over a decade, spent 17 years at Wizards of the Coast in senior commercial and regional leadership roles, most recently as vice president of digital games revenue and the Wizards Play Network. Rovio promoted Wille Miljas to director of product marketing.
Miljas joined Rovio in 2024 as marketing lead, previously heading marketing at Good Shepherd Entertainment and Redhill Games, and serving as senior marketing manager for planning and strategy at Next Games. Behaviour Interactive announced Jameson Durall as senior design director on the upcoming title Blight: Survival. Durall previously worked at Insomniac Games as an advanced senior game designer on Marvel’s Spider‑Man 2, bringing a strong narrative and systems design background to the new project. Epic Games promoted Matt Dobill to director of applied AI while he continues to serve as senior counsel on technology and tools, underscoring Epic’s focus on integrating artificial‑intelligence solutions into its development pipelines.
Unity hired Joe Gabriel as senior technical production manager for Android XR. Gabriel’s prior experience includes leading customer and developer success at Niantic Spatial and serving as senior developer relations manager at Niantic. King announced the promotion of Erik Meurk to senior software engineer.
Meurk began his career at King as a Unity development intern in August 2023, became an associate software engineer in early 2024, and has since contributed to several of King’s mobile titles. Epic Games elevated Stéfanie Grandchamp‑Dubé to lead UX designer. Grandchamp‑Dubé joined Epic in 2023 as a senior UX designer after a similar role at Behaviour Interactive, where she helped shape user‑experience strategies for live‑service games. Rebellion added Jack Anderson as a VFX artist.
Anderson previously held the same position at nDreams and Interior/Night, bringing a portfolio of cinematic effects to Rebellion’s upcoming projects. Blizzard Entertainment hired David Scarborough as senior manager of EMEA communications. Scarborough’s background includes senior account director work at Brands2Life, head of communications at Inflexion Games, and senior roles at Improbable and Koch Media/Deep Silver.
King appointed Esther Lopez as principal VFX artist. Lopez first joined King in 2014 as a senior artist, rose to associate principal VFX artist by 2020, spent two years at Meta developing real‑time VFX for VR/AR, and now returns to King to apply her immersive‑experience expertise.
CD Projekt Red named Magda Marcinkowska production manager in marketing. Marcinkowska previously acted as publishing operations director at Techland, where she oversaw cross‑functional publishing workflows. Newzoo hired Linh Lai as an accounting assistant after completing a six‑month internship. Lai emphasized how the internship helped her understand the interplay between individual accounting processes and the broader business, and expressed eagerness to take on greater responsibilities.
Kokoon Games welcomed Tommi Virolainen as senior game programmer. Virolainen’s prior experience includes tech programming at Metacore and senior programming and development positions at Lightneer. CD Projekt Red also appointed Christopher Holtorf as senior quest designer. Holtorf previously served as senior narrative designer at Intrepid Studios, where he crafted story‑driven questlines for open‑world titles.
1Up Ventures announced the addition of Amir Satvat as a general partner. Satvat previously led business development at Tencent Games and founded Always Supporting the Games Community (ASGC), a resource aimed at helping job seekers break into the industry. He cited a desire to connect his influence directly with helping people secure game‑development roles and to support smaller studios. Supercell confirmed the departure of Lasse Seppänen after seven years.
Seppänen joined as a producer in 2019, later becoming head of game production services and general manager for Supercell London. He plans to return to the UK and launch his own studio in 2027, focusing on new IP creation.
Take‑Two Interactive named Giles Derrington director of global affairs UK, after previously heading public affairs for TikTok in the United Kingdom. Kepler Interactive promoted Jess Pearce to senior people partner. Pearce started at Kepler as a people advisor in 2022 and moved to people partner in 2024, reflecting the studio’s growth in talent management. PlaySimple Games elevated Shreya Godha to producer from associate producer, recognizing her contributions to the company’s mobile portfolio.
Epic Games appointed Kelly Ekins as director of communications. Ekins previously served as senior director of global PR for Unity’s Games and Made with Unity program, and before that led marketing for media and entertainment at Unity after a stint at Warner Brothers Games Montreal.
Housemarque co‑founder and managing director Ilari Kuittinen stepped down after 31 years. Kuittinen co‑founded the studio in 1995 following the merger of Bloodhouse and Terramarque. He reflected on the studio’s independent journey and the smooth transition to new leadership under Sami “Haxu” Hakala, emphasizing continuity and strategic vision.
Tripledot Studios’ Lion Studios named Tamara Feiman as CEO. Feiman began her career at Lion Studios in 2020 as EMEA business‑development lead, later becoming publishing general manager. She highlighted the collaborative culture and the studio’s commitment to partnering with external developers to bring innovative games to millions of players.
Sega of America hired Heather Sangria as community manager. Sangria previously worked as a contract social strategist and community lead at One More Game and handled digital strategy and community management at Undead Labs.
Activision Blizzard promoted Emily Rose Chen to senior product manager for Call of Duty, after joining as a financial analyst in 2020 and moving into product management roles. Activision Blizzard also promoted Scot McCarron to senior director of product management for Call of Duty. McCarron originally joined as product marketing manager for emerging franchises in 2018 and has since overseen multiple product initiatives across the franchise.
These appointments, promotions, and departures illustrate the dynamic nature of talent movement within the games industry, highlighting both the continuity of seasoned leaders and the infusion of fresh perspectives that drive innovation across studios worldwide.